New data concerning the age of the Aksu Thrust in the south of the Aksu valley, Isparta Angle (SW Turkey): consequences for the Antalya Basin and the Eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

Pliocene sediments in the Aksu valley of the Antalya Neogene basin, located in the central part of the Isparta Angle, are shown to have transgressed a palaeovalley which resulted from deep erosion, probably during a sea-level lowstand related to the Messinian salinity crisis. The southern part of the Pliocene Aksu Basin exhibits shallow, open-marine deposits bordered by reefal limestones to the east. The dominant facies are marls and silts, which contain an abundant fauna of molluscs, foraminifera and nannoplankton of Early to Late Pliocene age. The northern part of the basin corresponds to the infill of a canyon (200 m deep) and environs by green marls overlain by massive conglomerates. The marls yielded a microfauna including nannoplankton indicative of a Mid-Pliocene age (limit N19-N20 and NN15 and NN16). This sequence was affected by strong compression, which resulted in duplication of the succession along several flat thrust faults. Kinematic data indicate a translation towards the west and southwest, related to the regionally important Aksu Thrust. This appears to be contemporaneous with the Levant Fault system and with the thrusting in the Kyrenia Range, north Cyprus. Copyright (C) 2003 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.